Claims
- 1. Apparatus for producing a body of fiber-reinforced foam, said apparatus comprising means for supplying a layer of fibers along a horizontal path, means downstream of said fibers supplying means for supplying a foamable material substantially uniformly on the upper surface of said layer, means downstream of said foamable material supplying means for supplying a flexible sheet above said layer of fibers and said foamable material, means extending substantially across the width of said layer for compressing the layer through said flexible sheet to aid in penetration of the foamable material, and means downstream of said compressing means to subsequently restrict the extent of the rise of the foamable material during foaming, said compressing means comprising a plurality of rolls, means connected to said rolls for supporting said rolls transversely to the path of said layer with their axes parallel, and means connected to said rolls for rotating said rolls in a circular path with the rolls closest to said layer moving in the same direction as said layer.
- 2. Apparatus according to claim 1 characterized by means for supplying a second layer of fibers on the first layer with the foamable material therebetween, and said compressing means compresses both of said layers through said flexible sheet to aid in penetration of the foam into both of said layers.
- 3. Apparatus according to claim 2 characterized further by means for supplying a flexible sheet under the first fibrous layer.
- 4. Apparatus according to claim 1 characterized by said compressing means comprises a pair of conveyor belts having at least portions of adjacent runs spaced apart a distance less than the thickness of said fiber layer, with the adjacent runs of said conveyor belt being disposed in divergent relationship.
- 5. Apparatus for producing a body of fiber-reinforced foam comprising means for supplying a layer of fibers, means downstream of said fibers supplying means for supplying a foamable material substantially uniformly to one surface of said layer, means downstream of said foamable material supply means for applying compressive forces in a non-uniform, concentrated manner to the composite layer to knead the foamable material into the fibrous layer to cause the foamable material to penetrate into the fibrous layer, said compressive means comprising a plurality of rolls located above the composite layer, and means connected to said rolls for rotating the rolls in a circular path about a common axis to move the individual rolls sequentially into contact with the composite layer, and means downstream of said rolls for limiting the maximum distance the outer surfaces of the layer can be moved apart to restrict the extent of the foaming of the foamable material.
Parent Case Info
This is a division of application Ser. No. 338,486, filed Mar. 6, 1973, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,867,494.
US Referenced Citations (9)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
315,247 |
Sep 1956 |
CH |
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
338486 |
Mar 1973 |
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